Thursday, July 28, 2016

The weather here has finally begun to warm up and it's actually beginning to feel a bit more like summer. Last month the heater popped on once or twice which had me wondering if it was going to feel like March forever.

When it does heat up outside, I'm less inclined to get up in the morning to cook, preferring instead "prepared" food. This morning this took the form of deviled eggs which I put together last night. They were incredibly easy to make and a delicious start to the day.

Saturday, June 4, 2016

Whenever I bring home a rotisserie chicken, it's the breast meat that's often left over. I usually make roast chicken sandwiches or some form of chicken salad out of this the next day.

This time the leftover chicken found its way into these individual single crust chicken pot pies. For some inexplicable reason I loathe making pie crust. I prefer grabbing a box of ready made which I can easily roll out even thinner.

In a medium sized pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until it becomes transparent.

Stir in the celery and carrots. Cook until the vegetables begin to brown lightly. Reduce the heat, if necessary.

Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir until the flour is evenly combined. Add the wine, water, Better than Bouillon, Chicken Base, summer savory, paprika and black pepper. Simmer gently for about 20-30 minutes.

Stir in the chicken, peas and heavy cream. Cook until everything has warmed through.

Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, if needed. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Divide the chicken stew between four 2 cup ramekins.

Cut four circles of pie crust large enough so that they will extend beyond the edges of the ramekins by at least 1/2 an inch or more. Cut a few slits in each piece for venting and place over each ramekin.

Place the pot pies onto a cookie sheet and bake for about 40-55 minutes or until the pie crusts have browned and the filling is bubbling hot.

Place the onion, garlic, ginger, salt, thyme, allspice, pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, lime juice, lime zest, soy sauce, olive oil and brown sugar into the bowl of a 12 cup food processor. If you are using something smaller, you might have to do this in batches. Pulse several times until the mixture is fine.

Add the jalapeno peppers, cilantro, parsley and green onion. Pulse until you have a coarse paste.

This can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two months if placed in a non reactive container and lid.